Pit was getting tired, and he knew that they were running out of time. But his blades hardly did any damage on the god's scaly skin, and his arrows only seemed to distract him. Kaitlyn's bullets seemed to have a little more effect, but not by much.
"We have to find a better way to do this!" Kuro yelled, narrowly avoiding a projectile sent by Mordes. The god seemed to have a long set of ridges on his back and his tail, and would shoot them at the angels. He had used so many that the back dressing room looked like a war zone. Pit was honestly surprised that no one had heard them yet, though he supposed everyone had cleared out before the next show. They were going to have to finish this up pretty soon, though, or the next designers and models would be coming in to find a crazy battle going on.
"I know!" Pit snapped, spinning his blades around to deflect another scale attack. "But we can't even seem to find a weak spot!"
"Well he's got have one! All gods do!"
"I know that!" Pit narrowly avoided another attack. "But I've also never encountered this particular god before, and we don't have Nighthawk to give us fancy encyclopedia knowledge!"
Cedar gave a grunt and retreated behind Pit. She was less experienced than the others in battle, and her body was riddled by cuts. She panted heavily. "His armor is way too strong. I can't get past any of his scales. And when I try to get closer, he uses his back scale attack."
Kaitlyn pulled out another magazine of bullets and shoved them into her pistol before continuing to fire rapidly. "I'm running out of bullets here, Pit."
"I know!" Pit yelled. "I'm trying to think! Keep him busy."
Kuro immediately ran at Mordes with bow spinning in his hands. He tried a combination of quick, rushed attacks, but all they seemed to do was get Mordes' attention. The god roared and snapped at Kuro's wings. The dark angel had hardly a moment, but he managed to avoid Mordes' fangs with a speedy dodge.
"Try his mouth!" Pit yelled. "There are no scales in there!"
Kuro whipped backwards to face the mouth he had just tried to get away from and shot a light arrow directly into Mordes' mouth. The god screamed in pain and clawed at his mouth, hissing angrily. His slit pupils narrowed and he rushed towards Pit, who hardly had time to move. A long set of claws wrapped around his body and grabbed him, lifting him off the ground. He wasn't gentle with his movements, and Pit found his wings pinned back at a terribly awkward and painful angle. He yelled in pain, struggling with all his might to free himself, but Mordes' grip was too strong.
"Little angels think they're so smart," Mordes hissed. "You think that one attack will kill a god." His fingers clenched tighter, causing Pit to scream as his limbs were practically crushed. "Give me the apple pieces! Give them to me!"
"No!" A stream of bullets pierced the inside of Mordes' maw, and the god screeched in pain and dropped Pit. The angel's wings were too limp to help him, and he collapsed onto the ground. Cedar rushed to his side and dragged him out from under Mordes and to the other side of the room. Kaitlyn and Kuro were on an all-out attack. Bullets were dropping everywhere from Kaitlyn's guns, and the floor around her was covered with the shells. She tried to dodge and weave out of the way of the scales that Mordes shot, but even she didn't have the skill to bock them. She gave a cry of pain as a scale lodged itself deeply into her shoulder, but she continued to shoot and reload magazines. Kuro eventually gave up on his front attack and came back to Kaitlyn and blocked the scale projectiles so that she could attack.
"We need to finish this," Pit managed through a groan of pain. "We need something that he can swallow, or something that will blow him up from the inside."
"It's not like we have grenades," Kuro said sharply.
Kaitlyn paused for a moment. "Well, not grenades, necessarily, but Nighthawk sent me some serious explosives in my backpack. He said they were just a precaution, especially because our equipment isn't all that high tech. But it's still in my backpack back at the hotel. I wouldn't be able to get them in time!"
"No, but I can."
The three angels turned to look at Kuro, who split his bow into two blades and held them out in a defensive position. He glanced back at them and frowned at the confused expressions on their faces. "What? I learned summoning charms years ago! But they take a lot of energy."
"But you'll need that energy to get us to Russia!" Kaitlyn said, firing at the scales that were flying at her. "You can't use it now, or we'll never get the last apple piece!"
"If I don't get that backpack, we'll have none of the apple pieces!" Kuro snapped. "We'll find a different way to get to Moscow. We need those explosives."
There was a long pause as Pit, Kaitlyn, and Cedar looked at one another while Kuro attacked Mordes and kept the god's attacks away. Mordes gave a screech and threw himself at the angels, who scattered away to the other side of the room. "Anytime now," Kuro snapped.
Pit finally narrowed his eyes and held up his bow, pulling it back and holding onto the arrow until it grew in power. "Fine, summon the backpack!"
Kuro whipped his blades around and stuck them back into his belt. "I need a few minutes to concentrate. Keep Mordes at bay."
"Will do," Kaitlyn said. She dropped her pistols and grabbed at her rifle. She must have run out of bullets for her pistols. Her rifle was slower, but had just as much power. "Cedar, can you start a close attack?"
"I can try!" She said, whipping out her two blades once again. She gave a look at Pit, who nodded back to let her know that he was fine on his own, and she threw herself at Mordes. Her blades were thinner than both Pit and Kuro's, closer to rapiers than knives. So her attacks were all stabbing. Her fighting was much more graceful and delicate than Pit's, but it was hardly useful against a massive enemy with thick scales and skin. Mordes slashed at her with his long, clawed hands, but she dodged away quickly.
Pit released his arrow and it hit Mordes right in the mouth, blasting him backwards. Pit shot a glance at Kuro, who was sitting crosslegged in the corner of the room, away from the attacks. His eyes were closed and his head hung low. He seemed to be murmuring under his breath. His hair blew in an unseen wind that only seemed to affect him, and he let out a long breath. Long tendrils of glowing light surrounded him and he held his hands up into the air.
Pit's concentration was broken when Mordes once again charged with a scream. "Surrender!"
Pit split his bow apart and slashed at Mordes' legs and wings, wincing as he dodged. He was incredibly frustrated, thinking about how his sprained wing had been feeling so much better before his body had been nearly crushed. He wouldn't be able to move very much besides a limp at this point. Everything felt bruised.
He wanted to scream out at Kuro to hurry, though he knew that that would be useless. He needed Kuro to work his magic faster.
"Don't move very much, Pit," Kaitlyn said. "Your body is in bad condition."
"Your shoulder's not looking very good itself," he panted, gasping for breath. He grabbed at his chest. He could have easily have broken a rib.
Kaitlyn grunted a little and shook out her hair. "I'm trying not to think about it," she snapped. "Less talking, more firing!"
"Working on it!" Cedar yelled, flinging herself into Mordes' face and stabbing him in the nose, in between where the scales met. She was thrown off violently, but her rapier blade was left in the monster's head. "Okay," she groaned as she picked herself up off the floor, "we really need those—."
"Got the explosives," Kuro yelled, handing Kaitlyn's large silver backpack to her. His whole position was slouched, and he had dark circles under his eyes. "Please use them quickly. I might collapse and take a nap."
Kaitlyn rustled through her bag, pulling out a handful of small, spheres. "Fabulous, I've got the explosives. Cedar, get them in his mouth."
Cedar grabbed the explosives out of the air, neatly flipping to land on her feet. "Got it!" She grabbed her remaining rapier and again shot into the air, her creamy brown and gold wings flaring out to their maximum extent. "Open wide, Mordes!"
Stupidly, the god did so, screaming at her. How he had been unaware of the explosives was beyond them, but as he roared at them, Cedar threw all three of the spheres right into Mordes' huge maw. When his mouth closed, Cedar jumped away, managing to grab her other rapier.
It was as if everything went completely silent right before the explosion.
Mordes seemed to realize something was wrong. For a split second, he looked down at his body. When he exploded, the force was so great that all four of the angels were forced back into the walls behind them. Pit screamed in pain as he tumbled across the room, his blades ripped from his grip. He tried to shield his eyes from the bright light, but his attempts were futile. He felt as though his cells were disintegrating and his entire body was burning off.
When the light finally died, Pit felt himself slump to the ground. He hardly had the energy to stand up. He coughed loudly. "Report," he said, spitting out something hard. He desperately hoped it wasn't a tooth.
He managed to get to his feet in the midst of all the destruction. "Report!" he yelled.
The room was a mess. All the furniture had been reduced to rubble, as did most of the walls. Where Mordes had once been, there was a black smear. The room was deathly silent, and nothing moved.
Pit tried to walk over to one of the piles, but he felt as though he were going to break everything if he moved. "REPORT!" He screamed.
A piece of drywall shifted, followed by coughing. "Here," came the weak voice, and a blonde hair appeared from under the rubble.
"Kaitlyn." Pit breathed a sigh of relief. He hobbled his way over and nearly collapsed on the ground at her feet. She struggled to keep him upright.
More movement from a few feet away caught their eyes. "I'm alive," came another voice. "I'm a little stuck…"
Pit and Kaitlyn made their way over and slowly began lifting pieces of drywall and wood. Underneath, still very much awake, though riddled with scratches, was Cedar. She groaned and stood up, dusting herself off. "Well, that was a little more exciting than I would have expected," she said through coughs. "Is everyone alright?"
Pit stared to nod, then stopped and looked around. "Wait…where's Kuro?"
They all turned and stared around the room. "Kuro?" Kaitlyn called. "Kuro!"
"Dangit," Pit snapped under his breath. "Kuro! Answer us!"
A quiet moan came from the corner of the room, where about five boards have fallen. The three angels looked at one another briefly before rushing over as quickly as they could. Cedar was in the best shape out of the three, so she did most of the heavy lifting. She lifted the boards while Kaitlyn and Pit cleared the area around.
Under the last board was Kuro, laying face flat on the ground. He tried to lift himself up, but he didn't have the strength and fell back to the dusty ground. "Oh no you don't," Pit grunted, and he pulled Kuro up over his shoulder, with Cedar's help. "We're getting out of here, and you're coming with us."
"How do we—?"
Kaitlyn was cut off as the door across the room opened, and a woman walked in. Pit sucked in a breath, and all four angels went still. The woman didn't even seem to notice the wrecked room, which Pit found odd, but then again, he could have easily been imagining the whole thing. He had hit his head hard, and this could have just been his imagination.
The woman rushed forward as soon as she saw the angels. "You have to get out of here!" She said loudly, grabbing Pit's arm and dragging him and Kuro away from the rubble. Kaitlyn and Cedar followed. "If anyone finds you back here…"
"Wait…who are you?" Cedar asked.
The woman gave her a smile that could only be described as sensual. "Not now, dear. I'll have to take you all myself." She bent down, looking deeply into Pit's eyes. "You first, beautiful." Before Pit could do anything, the woman raised a hand and tapped Pit on the forehead. And Pit felt his eyes slowly close and everything go dark.
When Pit awoke, everything was dark. He groaned, blinking open his eyes and trying to see something, anything. But it was so dark that he had a hard time seeing anything. He tried to sit up, but all of his muscles in his stomach had cramped up and he flopped back down with a small cry of pan.
"Oh, I wouldn't move very much if I were you," came a cool, smooth voice.
A light flashed on, and Pit squinted and blinked a few times. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on a bed what looked to be an incredibly nice bedroom. The room was colored in beiges and maroons, with all the furniture being made of wood and covered in tan fabrics. It was far more expensive than the last hotel Pit had been in.
"Healing takes a while, so I'd sit there for at least another twenty minutes. After that, you should be fine."
Pit turned at stared. Against one of the walls of the room was a vanity table, and sitting in the chair was a young woman. She had to be in her early twenties, with long, luscious blonde hair and a curvy body. It didn't help that she was only wearing a loose robe. She was leaning over low the table, her face nearly touching the mirror as she dabbed on bright red lipstick.
"W-what?" Pit managed to say. His voice cracked dangerously.
"Don't work yourself up," she said, pressing her lips together and pursing them. "Your friends are fine. They're all healing too, each in their own room. We're meeting up for lunch, so you'll see them soon." She shot a glance at Pit, looking him up and down. Her eyes, which were brilliant blue, shone with an unnatural light. The way she looked at him was as though she were sizing him up, checking if he were worth her time. "I'm sure you'll want to change, too," she said. "Don't worry, there are clothes in here for you too."
The woman stood and walked over to the massive closet. Pit followed her with his eyes, until she dropped her robe, leaving herself stark naked. Pit snapped his eyes shut, sucking in his breath. Don't think about it, don't think about it…
"You all certainly weren't what I was expecting," he heard her say. "After all, who would expect Palutena's mightiest warriors to be at Fashion Week, of all places? I always come in for Fashion Week. Paris is definitely the place to be when you want nice clothing. Be glad it was me who found you and not those humans. You could easily be in jail. Oh, you can open your eyes now."
Pit wasn't sure if he could trust the strange woman, so he squinted his eyes open just a little so he could check if she was indeed dressed. When he was sure she was fully clothed, he opened his eyes again. The woman's back faced him, and she turned around a little, grinning as she put in earrings. "I have to let you know, Pit, I'm so happy that you and Kaitlyn are doing well together!"
Pit blinked a few times, finding himself needing to breathe harder in order to fill his lungs. "Hold on, I probably missed something, but…who are you?"
The woman turned around, facing Pit fully. Her gold gown fit her body perfectly, enhancing her curves and making her blue eyes even more vibrant. "Don't tell me you haven't already guessed!" she said, her face breaking into a smile. "Your friend Kuro knew me on sight!"
Pit stared at her for a moment, and then shook his head. "Nope. I have no idea."
The woman's proud, confident stature seemed to deflate a bit, and she frowned. She walked up to the vanity table again and began gently brushing her hair. "Really? After all that show, you still don't get it?"
"No. Can you…tell me, maybe?"
The woman gave a dramatic sigh. "I go by many names, especially by my many lovers, but you may refer to me as Symphonia."
Pit paused, remembering Nighthawk's history lesson at the beginning of their mission. "The Goddess of Love?"
"Ooh, you do remember me!" Symphonia said in excitement. "I always do love it when men have heard of me! It makes my job so much easier!"
"Your job?"
"Why, making people fall in love, of course! And to watch over all the lovers of the world and make their lives as wonderful and magical as possible, that's also in my job descriptions. Of course, sometimes I have to split people apart, and put them together with other people, you know, when it doesn't quite work out. Love is pain, am I right? But I also make sure famous fashion designers and models are doing alright. After all, on my spare time, I'm usually helping them with their work." She looked at Pit, raising her eyebrow. "I think you can sit up now. You've probably healed enough to do that."
Pit immediately tried to sit up, groaning a little. His whole body ached. He was getting tired of waking up not knowing where he was and being in pain. He was starting to get at to the end of his rope emotionally. He just wanted to go back home and sleep in his own bed and be with his friends. He wanted to be with Kaitlyn, alone.
Why was he thinking about that?
"Because I'm in the room," Symphonia said suddenly. She gave Pit a dazzling smile. "You looked so confused there for a second. You're thinking about Kaitlyn, aren't you?"
Pit could only nod in shock.
Symphonia gave a high pitched giggle that Pit couldn't help but find very annoying. "I have that effect on people. In fact, I can make myself look like anyone that you find attractive. This is just my normal form."
"Your normal form?"
"Mmhmm. Give me a moment."
Pit watched in fascination as Symphonia's face and body changed. Her face became rounder, hair shorter and a brighter blonde. She became shorter, thicker in shape, and more muscular. Within moments, Symphonia was gone and before him stood a perfect copy of Kaitlyn.
"You like it?" She said, fiddling with the dress that had changed to fit Kaitlyn's body shape. Her voice had changed so that it sounded exactly like Kaitlyn's. "It's easy to seduce people this way," she said, slowly walking towards Pit. Pit felt the hair on his neck stand up, and he tried to shift away, but Symphonia came closer. Pit knew for a fact that the woman before him wasn't really Kaitlyn, but something nagged in the back of his head that she really was his girlfriend.
It's not her…it's not her…stop…stop… Pit told himself, screwing his eyes shut and whispering under his breath.
Symphonia laughed, reverting to her regular form. "Oh, I just love you! You're so pure all the time." She gave another laugh and walked to the door, but she paused before she left the room. "Lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes, so I'd advise you to wash up and change into some new clothes. The others will be there too. So don't be late!"
Symphonia left the room, giving a little wave. Pit sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. He decided that he didn't like Symphonia. He didn't like her at all. But he was pretty sure that getting on her bad side was a bad idea. Nighthawk had told him that Symphonia had started the Trojan War. He did not need the same thing happening to him.
So he slowly rose from the bed, wincing and clutching at his stomach. Everything still hurt, but the sharp jabs of pain had died down to a mere dull ache and throbbing. He hoped that Symphonia's healing would finish the job.
He took a long shower, letting the hot water pour over his face and wash away his anxieties. The wet dirt dripped off his body and poured away. The water and steam made everything seem better, and he felt his whole body relax. After thoroughly drying himself off, he grabbed a random set of clothing from the closet and slid them on automatically. He found his blades in the closet as well, settled neatly next to the shoes. He grabbed those and stuck them in his new jacket.
For some reason, he felt the urge to look at himself in the mirror. He wasn't sure what he was expecting. He still looked basically the same as he always did: relatively tall with the messiest brown hair that he had ever seen, blue eyes, and a lean profile. But there were dark circles under his eyes, and he had taken on a hungry and desperate look. He wasn't sure if he liked it. It made him look older, but more gaunt. Had this happened in so few days? Were the apple pieces starting to take a toll? They needed to find the last piece soon.
The rest of the hotel suite was just as lavish as the room that Pit had woken up in. The common living room area was decorated in whites and greys with a touch of yellow. Everything was very modern and minimalist, but it was beautiful anyways.
Cedar sat on a couch nearby, dressed in a long blue dress and drinking a glass of water. She looked better than ever. All the scratches on her arms were completely healed without even a scar to show for them. As soon as Pit walked into the room, Cedar's head shot up and she gave him a brilliant smile. "You're okay!" She leapt off the couch and grabbed Pit in the biggest hug she could manage, which was still small given the limited length of her arms. Pit hugged her hack, breathing in her smell for a sense of comfort. All angels had particular smells. Pit had been told that he smelled like honeysuckles, which he was pleased about. Cedar, on the other hand, always smelled like fresh hot cocoa.
"I'm so glad you're okay," he said quietly, holding her for as long as he could. "You really scared me back there."
"I'm okay," she said, running a hand through her hair and pushing it out of her face. "I've never done anything like that before, though. Do you have to fight things like that all the time?"
Pit shrugged. "I've had to fight more than other angels, but that's our job. We're defenders. We fight monsters. Sometimes we fight gods."
Cedar let out a long breath. "I know. I just…I really thought we were going to die back there…" She lowered her gaze as she began to tremble slightly. Her lips tightened into a thin line and she sucked in a sharp breath as she spoke.
Pit pulled her back into a hug, rubbing her hair gently like he had seen Lady Palutena do with distressed angels. "Hey, it's okay."
Cedar burst into tears and sobbed into Pit's shoulder. She seemed so young at that moment, and Pit realized that he often forgot just how young Cedar really was. She was hardly a teenager in human years, and she hadn't been in many battles at all, especially none that were life-threatening. She hadn't been old enough to fight in the battle against the shadow angels. She had never been in danger before. She must have been terrified.
Pit pulled away and let Cedar dry her tears with her back of her hand. She sniffled a little. "Hey," Pit said with a smile. "You did really well, alright? I've never been able to see you fight like that in practice. You must be working really hard."
Cedar's laugh was nearly a cough and her smile wobbled. "I've been practicing," she choked out, and motioned to the couch, where her thin blades sat. "A bunch of the angels are still there from the tournament, so I asked some of the ones with rapiers to help me practice."
"Good for you!" Pit said proudly. "When you go back, you have to tell Nighthawk all about it."
"I will," she said with a nod.
"Pit, Cedar!" Kaitlyn exclaimed, coming from another room.
"Kaitlyn!" Cedar said, giving her a hug. "How are you?"
"Feeling much better," she said with a smile. She certainly looked better now that she had showered and wasn't covered in plaster and god guts, but he could also see the hint of dark circles under her eyes. It looked like he wasn't the only one who was struggling.
"How did you sleep?" Pit asked, giving Kaitlyn a hug as soon as Cedar released her.
He could tell from her tenseness that everything was not all right, even when Kaitlyn gave a hearty "oh, just fine". When she pulled away, he could see it in her eyes. Something was wrong. He tilted his head ever so slightly, but she only shrugged in response to his hinting. He gave a tiny nod and they rejoined Cedar at the couches. Kaitlyn immediately began to braid Cedar's long hair while they chatted.
"You all look awfully good," Kuro said, coming from his own room. He stretched out his long limbs and yawned a little. As usual, he was dressed in all black, though he on a single gold chain for a necklace. "Sleep well?"
They all replied that they had slept just fine, and Kuro joined them on the couches. He ran his hands through his hair, messing up the damp locks as much as he could. "How are you feeling?" Pit asked. The last time he had seen his friend, the dark angel had been more than a little hurt.
"Better," Kuro said slowly. "I'm getting a headache, but that's no surprise. I don't know if you are, but I'm more powerful than you are, so I'm not surprised." He gave Pit a long look. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"A goddess is more like it," Pit said, rubbing his neck. "Where is she, anyways?"
"Who, Symphonia?" Kuro said with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head. "She's not here."
"What? Why?"
Kuro sighed. "It's kind of complicated, honestly, but I'll try to explain. Symphonia found us yesterday and brought us here, but she left soon afterwards, while we were asleep. What you saw was just her presence trying to contact you. At this point, she's already lost her memories."
"What?" Pit said, slightly shocked. "You mean she didn't just come and strip in my room?!"
Kuro looked as though he were about to burst from laughter. "Oh my gosh, she did that? That sounds like Symphonia! No, actually she left pieces of her memory here. It's one of her many abilities. Love leaves memories that are incredibly vivid, so she uses them to contact people."
"That's…overly complicated," Pit said slowly.
"Hey, I never said it was simple. Symphonia's a goddess, she can do whatever she wants. Don't worry, though, she got our backpacks for us and everything before she left. There are notes, food, and everything we need in here until we find the last apple piece."
"Shouldn't we be out looking for it right now?" Pit asked. "You can just shadow travel us there and we'll have the next piece before nightfall."
"That's exactly what we don't want to do," Kuro said, wincing slightly as he pressed a hand to his head. "Look, I already did some research before you guys woke up and—."
He was cut off by a loud ringing, and he stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Pit was shocked that the thing had survived this long, and Kuro seemed just as surprised. He tapped the screen, looking skeptical. "Um, hello?"
He shot Pit a look and mouthed "It's Nighthawk". Pit gave him a thumbs up and Kuro said, "Hey, Nighthawk, I'm gonna put you on speaker…uh huh…just a sec."
Kuro set the Phone on the table and Kaitlyn and Cedar stopped their conversation to join the two men. "Okay, Nighthawk, go ahead."
"Hey, guys, how are you doing?"
"Um, Nighthawk?" Kaitlyn said slowly. "You don't sound so good."
She was right. Nighthawk's voice was slow and thick with sleepiness. It sounded as though he had just woken up.
"I'm fine," he said. "I'm just starting to get a headache. You guys had better have the apple pieces soon."
"We've got three," Pit said. Cedar pulled all three of them out of her jacket and set them on the table, where they clinked cheerfully.
"Where's the last one? Are you where you need to be?"
"It's in Moscow," Pit said.
"We're already there," Kuro said quickly. Pit gave him a sharp glance and Kuro nodded sharply. "We'll be getting the apple piece tonight. What's the plan after that?"
"That's where it gets difficult. You have two options. You can either go after Mnemosyne, or find Harmonia and turn the Apple of Discord into the Apple of Concord. Either one is good, but I don't know where either of them are. But whatever you do, you have to do it quickly. We're running out of time, like, really running out."
Pit nodded. "We hear you, Nighthawk. Kuro, you have any leads on where the apple piece is?"
"That's what I was going to tell you before," Kuro said with a sigh. "The apple piece is located at a club and bar nearby. We could go now, but it would look really weird for a bunch of young adults to just go into a bar before lunch time."
"But we only have two days left until the week is up," Pit said. "We need to finish everything as quickly as possible and get everyone's memories back."
"Look," Kuro said, looking a little annoyed, "I've already found Harmonia too, so we don't have to worry about what to do next."
"You already found her? How?"
"Well, I haven't exactly found her-found her. There's a really strong aura close by the bar. I'm pretty sure Harmonia's drawn to the apple's power. She probably doesn't have her memories, though—."
"Which is why we should go after Mnemosyne first," Pit interrupted. "It'll be easier to find Eris if everyone can remember everything, especially Mnemosyne herself."
"Do you think Eris is just leaving Mnemosyne unguarded? She's probably got her hiding place covered in guards! And for starters, we don't even know where she's being hidden!"
"Then use your fancy-shmancy aura-sensing powers, why don't you?" Pit snapped. "You can obviously find everyone else whenever anyone needs you!"
"That's ridiculous," Kuro snarled, his red gaze hardening. "It's not like I can just find the Goddess of Memory! Eris has probably covered Mnemosyne with magic! I can't just find her!"
"Well you sure haven't tried!" Pit and Kuro were on their feet at this point, glaring at one another. "Have you even tried to look for Mnemosyne?"
"I've been more concerned keeping you alive, idiot!" Kuro snapped. "And I've been up to my knees in mental activity trying to find the exact place that the apple pieces are so we don't have to waste time trumping around cities trying to stumble upon a golden apple charm! Sorry if my best isn't good enough for you!"
"You know what?! If Palutena completely forgets you, it's not my fault!" Pit yelled. "You're the one who didn't care enough about her to want to help fix her memory!"
Pit let out a grunt as Kuro's shoulder found his diaphragm. The two went tumbling to the ground. "Don't you DARE tell me I don't care about Lady Palutena!" Kuro screamed, pinning Pit to the floor. "You think I would slave away trying to fix Earth a little at a time if it weren't for Lady Palutena? If she hadn't changed my mind about humanity, you guys would be completely lost!"
"You think you're so great," Pit spat, ripping his arm away from Kuro's hand and elbowing Kuro in the stomach until the latter released him. "Have you ever tried living without all those fancy powers? You have to rely on everyone! How do you think that feels?!"
Pit vaguely heard Kaitlyn screaming at him in the background, but he wasn't through. "You think you're so great with all your fancy magic and abilities! Well you know what, I'm still the leader of this team, and I make the decisions!"
"At least my magic abilities can tell me when you're being thick," Kuro snapped. "Just because you're the supposed leader doesn't mean you're very smart!"
Pit rushed at Kuro, but at last minute, someone grabbed him around the stomach and held him back. Pit struggled and tries to twist himself away, but Kaitlyn was stronger than he was and she dug her heels in pretty firmly in order to hold him back. "I'm done with you!" Pit screamed. "If you don't want to follow the team, then you don't belong with us!"
"Who would want to be with you?!" Kuro snapped. He was in a fighting position, but he wasn't making any advances. While Kaitlyn was actually holding Pit back, Cedar looked terrified at the idea of even touching Kuro, much less restraining him, so she stood behind. "You're too stupid for your own good and all you do is think about the easy way to do things! You have no sense of responsibility! You never plan anything!"
"Hey, I try to save people!"
"YOU CAN'T SAVE EVERYONE!" Kuro roared. He stopped, closing his eyes and taking a long time to breathe in. His whole figure slumped. "You know, sometimes people get hurt," he said quietly, his voice cracking a little. His fists were clenched and Pit could see him trembling slightly. "And…and you can't do anything about it. So you know what? Do whatever you want. I don't care what you do. When you actually want my help, come and find me." His eyes locked with Pit's for a moment, then he turned around and went back to his room. The door slammed behind him.
The room was deathly silent for a long time. The three angels didn't move. Pit stared at the ground, breathing hard. Kaitlyn's arms were still wrapped around him.
Pit sucked in a long breath and felt himself trembling. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"What…what happened?"
Pit was startled by the sound of Nighthawk's voice. He had completely forgotten that Nighthawk was on the phone.
"N-nothing happened, Nighthawk!" Pit yelled before he could stop himself. He bit his tongue and felt the tears flow down his cheeks. "Nothing…"
"Well…I'm going to hang up…I'll expect Cedar to be back soon. Over and out." His voice was replaced by a long beep, which only stopped when Cedar hung up on their side. The room was plunged into silence once again.
Kaitlyn looked at Cedar, who was tugging on her braid. "Cedar, go and check on Kuro, will you?"
Cedar's eyes widened and she stared at the door for a moment. "Um…is that really a good idea?"
"He doesn't bite. Just…go and sit in there."
She nodded and knocked gently on the door before walking in a closing the door behind her.
Kaitlyn's head rested on Pit's back for a moment. "Pit," she whispered. "Pit…"
"What did I do?" Pit's voice trembled and he choked on a sob.
"Do you want my opinion?" came Kaitlyn's quiet voice from behind him.
Pit sucked in a breath and bit his lower lip so hard that he was afraid he'd cut through the skin. Kaitlyn's arms slid out from his waist and she grabbed his arm and slowly led him over to the couch. Pit hardly felt it, but he allowed her to sit him down next to her. As soon as he felt the security of the seat beneath him, he put his face into his hands and completely broke down.
He sobbed and sobbed and found himself unable to stop. He tried to calm down, tried to take deep breaths, but he nearly choked on the air. He felt Kaitlyn's hands gently rubbing his back. It reminded him of Jenny. She used to do that, back when he lived with her. It had calmed him down then. It worked a little now.
"Hey, it's okay," Kaitlyn whispered. "It's alright."
"No, it's not!" Pit managed to say, starting to hiccup through his tears. "I just…I just accused him of…what is happening to me?!"
Kaitlyn's arm wrapped around Pit's middle and she drew close to him, so their sides touched. Her warmth was welcomed by him, and he stopped trembling. "I don't know," she admitted. "But we're all tired—."
"I'm sick of being away from Angel Land," Pit said loudly. "What if something happens? What if we try to go back, and everything's gone?"
"That's not going to happen, Pit," Kaitlyn responded quietly. "Really, it's not. We're going to get everyone's memories back, right?"
Pit was quiet for a long time. Kaitlyn's eyes, which were normally a bright green, had grown soft and sympathetic. Her words were whispered. "I know you're having a hard time. You're not alone. We're all on edge. We all want to go home. But, you know, Kuro probably wants to go home too."
When Pit didn't respond, Kaitlyn continued. "After all, he was just starting to build a life for himself with Aubrey and Roger's family. His memories are going faster than yours are. Don't you think he's just as afraid of forgetting his friends as you are?"
Pit tried to swallow, but found his throat too dry to do so. He nearly choked, and sucked in another breath, his tears subsiding. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he was ready for this. The real problem was that he knew that what he was doing was dangerous, really dangerous, and he could easily fail. And if Pit hated one thing, it was failure, because in his line of work, failure meant either his death, or the death of the people around them. He was not going to let that happen.
"Do want my honest opinion?" Kaitlyn asked.
Pit paused, then nodded.
"I think what you did was completely stupid. You didn't take Kuro's side into account at all. Did you even hear his argument?"
"Kaitlyn, thanks, but you're honestly not one to talk. You go crazy and attack people all the time, even if someone just makes fun of you. You don't have much self-control, well, at all."
Kaitlyn's gaze lowered and she leaned back against the couch with crossed arms. She let out a sigh and grabbed at her ponytail. Her lips pursed, and she gave a tight smile. "Yeah, from an outside point of view, I guess it kind of looks that way, doesn't it."
Pit turned to look at Kaitlyn who was absent-mindedly playing with her hair. She suddenly felt very distant. "Kaitlyn…is there something else?"
The blonde girl took a deep breath and allowed herself to sink back deeper into her chair. "You could say that. The reason I get so…well…defensive, is because every time I get attacked, physically or verbally, it reminds me of my dad."
Pit was quiet and allowed her to continue. "I've done some research, and I'm pretty sure I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Because I was abused when I was little, a lot of things will trigger a memory from my past, and I kind of automatically react. Sometimes I sit in a corner, other times I attack whatever is coming at me, and sometimes I completely freeze up. Recently, my dreams have been triggering attacks too." She took a long breath. "I really, really need professional help, but I've been trying to avoid doing that."
"Why?"
"Because it's hard to talk about my dad and what he did," Kaitlyn said, her tone growing harder. "It's not something I like to discuss. But that's why I attacked those tree things, and Phosphora, and why I've basically been a wreck this whole time."
"Does Eris ever come and talk to you?"
Kaitlyn's head shot up and she glared at Pit. "Has she been coming to you too?"
"Only once," Pit admitted. "Right after I woke up near Chicago. Do you think…do you think she's the reason you're experiencing these things?"
"Oh no, definitely not. These started long before Eris appeared. But it's been getting worse."
Pit grabbed Kaitlyn's warm hands and held them between his own. A weak smile was all he could manage. "When this is over, we'll find a way to help you. I promise."
"I'll take you up on that," Kaitlyn said slowly, giving him her warmest smile. She motioned to the door. "So, are you going to go talk to him?"
Pit took a deep breath and stood with a nod. "I guess that's the best option."
"It is. Trust me."
"I do."
Pit wasn't sure what to expect when he opened the door, but he was pleased with the fact that Kuro hadn't killed Cedar. In fact, Cedar sat in the corner of the room, staring at Kuro, who way lying on his bed.
Cedar glanced at Pit when he entered and he nodded to her. She understood and left the room, dipping her head to him, and shutting the door behind herself.
Kuro didn't turn his head to look at Pit. In fact, he didn't move at all. Pit was sure Kuro already knew that Pit was there, but he chose to ignore him.
Kuro's room was decorated in light green and gold. It seemed nearly identical to Pit's in shape and size, except for the decorations. It was overall very nice, but seemed a little bright for Kuro.
Pit sat down on the floor, though he could see the chair in the room that was open. It felt better to keep lower than Kuro for some reason. At least this way he couldn't see Kuro's face or eyes. That would have been much more unnerving to him. Pit took a long breath and crossed his legs. He didn't know how long he would be there. He also didn't speak. He simply sat there, glancing up every once in a while to make sure that Kuro hadn't disappeared or something else crazy like that.
But the silence wasn't the awkward tension that Pit had been feeling around people lately. This silence was calm and peaceful. They weren't searching for something to say to fill the gap; they left the air open between them. Pit found it relaxing and comforting, especially after what had happened.
He wasn't sure how long they sat there in the silence before Kuro spoke. Pit's legs were starting to cramp, and every few minutes, he would sit up straighter and crack his back. At one point, he stood up and stretched a little. His wings flared out to their full extent, which nearly filled the room when he turned correctly.
Suddenly, he heard a long breath come from the bed, and he turned to find Kuro sitting up on his bed. He didn't look at Pit, but instead was stretching his arms out, just as Pit had been doing. He gave a small moan and Pit heard Kuro's arms crack. Kuro let out a long sigh and shook out his hair. "You know," he said, "if you want to say something, you really should say it."
Pit shrugged, folding his wings back against his back. "You talk better than I do."
Kuro rubbed under his chin in mock thought. "Well, I guess that is true." He shook his head again. "Look, I know you're upset—."
"No," Pit held up his hand, stopping Kuro in his words. "I don't have any real way to justify myself. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you. That's not what teammates do."
Kuro blinked and gave a very slow nod. "I shouldn't have attacked you back, even when you provoked me. You do have a really bad habit of ticking me off, though." He gave Pit a small smile.
"I know," Pit said as he rubbed his neck. He gave a short laugh. "I kind of have a knack for it."
"If we really are copies of one another, then I guess it would make sense. Light and dark are always at odds with one another. It's not like we can do anything about it."
"Yeah, but we can work on it. Truce?" He held out his hand.
Kuro took it with a smirk. "Truce. We still have to figure out what the plan in, without getting up in arms and nearly killing one another, of course."
"Okay, I think we can do that," Pit said. He slid onto the bed and faced Kuro. "So what are we looking at exactly?"
"The problem we're facing is the fact that we really have to be in two places at once. We need to find Harmonia in order for Eris to be defeated, but Mnemosyne is the ultimate reason why everyone is losing their memories. I know you really want to go after Mnemosyne, and if we really had an option, I'd probably agree. My headaches are only getting worse. But if we can find the last apple piece and get Harmonia to fix it, then we can defeat Eris. If we can find Eris we can find Mnemosyne."
"Why can't you sense her? Mnemosyne is ancient and must have a massive aura."
"Eris is imbued with Chaos Magic. It's an incredibly powerful form of Dark Magic, which is commonly used to hide people. She used her magic to hide Mnemosyne's entire aura. It's impressive, to say the least. But I honestly can't sense her or Eris, which worries me. Eris' magic supply must be massive. It's going to be hard to get her to eat the apple."
"We'll manage it," Pit said sharply. "But we have to make a decision on what we're going to do."
"We could split up," Kuro said with a shrug. "We could keep Cedar here for a while and she could come with one of us, while the other gets Kaitlyn."
Pit shook his head. "After what happened with the last apple piece holder, I'm not sending anyone to find the last apple piece alone or just with another angel. We all need to be there. We have no idea what we're up against."
"Then we have to choose. Look, all preferences aside, do you know why I think we should go after Harmonia and the apple piece?"
"Shoot."
"Because if I know crazy gods, wherever they have Mnemosyne is going to be heavily guarded, either by monsters or magic. And it could take us a long time to get past whatever she has set up. And by that time, the apple piece could be gone."
"Gone?" Pit said slowly.
"Yeah, there's something incredibly weird about this last apple piece. The aura on this one is crazy. It's nothing like the other ones. They were all constant and strong. This one…it's like it's growing exponentially, then it dies down again. Like a heartbeat, almost."
"Well that's not unnerving at all," Pit said with a shiver. "What does it mean?"
Kuro shook his head. "Something unnatural. We need to get the apple piece soon, or something could happen to it. That's why I think we should go after the apple piece and Harmonia first."
Pit pursed his lips together. What Kuro said made sense. But that didn't mean he was very happy about it. He put his face in his hands and sighed. "I just…I really want to make this right. We only have so much time left, and if we don't hurry up, everyone could lose so much."
"Hey, I know," Kuro said slowly. "I want to keep my head intact as much as the next angel, but we also have a job to do. You're the leader, you make the decisions, but I'm telling you what our plan of action is. What you do with it is up to you."
"You won't fight me about it?"
Kuro shrugged and gave a small smile. "Hey, I can do whatever I want. You can't control me. But I did volunteer for this, so I guess I should probably follow your orders. But if anything goes wrong, I'm doing my own thing the way I think best. That's the only condition I have with working with you."
Pit smiled a little and shook out his hair. "Can I even argue with that?"
"Nope. That's exactly why I said it."
Pit held out his hand. "Okay, we'll go after Harmonia and the apple piece first. But if everything goes wrong on my end, I also reserve the right to go after Mnemosyne. Deal?"
Kuro took Pit's hand and shook it, his red eyes meeting Pit's blue with a look that could only be explained as respectful. Pit had never seen that look given to anyone but Lady Palutena herself. What Pit had done to earn Kuro's respect was beyond him, but it made him feel better. "Deal."
You guys have been so patient with my crazy updates, so thank you for understanding :)
My sister finally checked over the next few chapters, so I'll be updating much more frequently over the next few days. I'm getting close to the end of the story, which is weird...
Thanks for everyone's patience! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I'm happily at home visiting my family.
Merry Christmas!
~Pixie
